Winemaker Notes
The wine was fermented under temperature controlled conditions and then briefl y aged in French wood to produce a fruit driven style that shows more of the ripe shiraz characters, little oak impact, a smooth textured, glycerin laden mouthfeel and early drinking.
The 2006 Winner's Tank Shiraz is a perennial Best Buy. It spent 9 months in tank with French oak staves. Purple-colored, it has a wonderfully expressive perfume of plum, black cherry, and blueberry compote. This leads to a full-bodied, seamless, rich wine with a long, pure finish. This is an ideal, every-day wine worth buying by the case. It is an awesome value. - Wine Advocate
Exotically perfumed aromas of fresh blackberry, mulberry and mocha, accented by violet and sandalwood. Lush, impressively sweet dark berry fl avors verge on jammy but maintain energy thanks to lively minerality. Fine-grained tannins build on the long, juicy fi nish. Extremely impressive for the price and utterly delicious right now." - Tanzer
Professional Ratings
Though Syrah originated in the Rhône Valley of France, Australia is home to the oldest Syrah (called Shiraz here) vines on the planet. Found in Australia’s Barossa Valley, where phylloxera has never threated viticulture, these ancient vines are between 140 to 175 years old!
Having brought fame and merit to the country’s wine scene since the early 1950s, namely via the debut of Penfolds Grange, today Syrah (Shiraz) claims rank as the most widely planted grape in Australia. In fact, the amount of land dedicated to Shiraz in Australia is now almost equivalent to what it is in France. Australian Shiraz has its own personality with flavors and aromas of intense blackberry, fruitcake, menthol, tobacco leaf and umami. Conveniently one can find great Australian Shiraz at a variety of price points but the very best will be dense, gloriously complex and capable of long aging.